As Bridgerton lovers prepare to jump back into another Regency England romance on Jan. 29, viewers will be thrust into a world of lavish parties, beautiful gowns, and Lady Whistledown’s gossip. While Benedict Bridgerton and Sophie Baek’s story unfolds on the screen, there could also be expanding questions about how the show handles consent.

Based on Julia Quinn’s popular historical romance novels, every season of the Netflix adaptation follows the love story of one of the eight Bridgerton siblings. Each of the first three seasons raked in more than 90 million views during their first 91 days on the streaming platform.

But while the love stories have captivated viewers, the show’s portrayals of consent—which the National Sexual Violence Resource Center defines as meaning “everyone involved has agreed to what they are doing and has given their permission”—have varied.

Season 1, in particular, drew controversy for a marital rape scene in which the protagonist, Daphne Bridgerton, forces her husband to ejaculate inside her after he repeatedly made it clear during other sexual encounters that he didn’t want to. Bridgerton fans criticized showrunners for including the scene from the original book when it premiered in 2020.

In the years since, the show has evolved in its portrayals of consent. Season 3 is perhaps the season with the best depiction of consent, with Colin Bridgerton asking Penelope Featherington for consent during different sexual encounters.

But there’s still room for improvement when it comes to informed consent—meaning that there’s open communication about boundaries before, during, and after the activities being engaged in, and what may result from their actions. Season 4 is an opportunity for Bridgerton, a show which mixes the historical and the modern, to improve how it depicts consent for a contemporary audience.

While the Bridgerton series has reached new heights for book-based adaptations, the romance genre’s popularity is nothing new.

The concept of the romance novel as we know it today dates back to the romantic fiction of the 18th and 19th centuries, according to the New York Public Library. While the early days of romance novels mostly explored the stories of heterosexual, white women, the genre has slowly evolved to become more inclusive. New subgenres—like new adult romance and romance-fantasy (better known as romantasy)—have also emerged. Tropes such as friends to lovers, forced proximity, and fake dating have established certain frameworks that give structure to the stories.

Consent appears to be increasingly important to romance-enjoyers. As recently as this winter,........

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